There’s the smoking gun (Richard Clark), the smoking gun (Bob Woodward), the smoking gun (Downing st. Memo) and now… the smoking gun (Memo for War). Thank goodness for Bush there’s no smoking gun.
Matthews: …Here’s what Cohen received, a call from the vice president, Cheney. Here’s what he said. He said that he wanted to see one thing. He did not want to see a tour of the world or all the potential threats to our country, he wanted to get a briefing for the new president, his partner, George W. Bush, on one topic, Iraq. That’s all he wanted.”
I talked to Bill Cohen a number of times on this, and he said it was breath taking. All the vice president wanted to know about, he didn’t care about the world all around the globe, the only thing he cared about was Iraq. He was already honing in on that decision in December of 2000. What does that tell you?
SANDS: Well, I think it tells us that all of this is completely consistent with the materials that emerged, the Downing Street Memo of July 2002, and now this White House meeting memo of January 2003, that an early decision was taken, and I think what it raises is fundamental questions about competence.
“As always, it’s difficult to know where to begin with such news. George Bush is telling Iraq’s “democracy” that HE doesn’t like who they’ve selected as prime minister and that HE will no longer accept or support the current guy staying in the job…
…How do we, with a straight face, claim that Iraq is a new democracy when we are hand-picking the leader of said democracy? And how does Bush expect any leader of Iraq to have any credibility at all if we’re the ones picking him? And finally, we are lucky the shi’ites are so far NOT a party to the resistance taking on American troops. That could change in a snap, and according to, I believe it was ABC News the other night, if the Shi’ites decide to rejoin the resistance, that will DOUBLE the number of resistance fighters taking the US on…”
From the NYT:
“Ambassador Khalilzad said that President Bush “doesn’t want, doesn’t support, doesn’t accept” Mr. Jaafari to be the next prime minister,…”
What every Republican should finally accept and what every Democrat has been saying all along. Where has this hero been? As straight shooting as it gets and all from one with impeccable credentials to comment on these issues. Rove is gonna need a swift fleet to bring down this guy. Here’s a sample:
“Q: What do you make of the torture debate? Cheney …
A: (Interrupting) That’s Cheney’s pursuit. The only reason anyone tortures is because they like to do it. It’s about vengeance, it’s about revenge, or it’s about cover-up. You don’t gain intelligence that way. Everyone in the world knows that. It’s worse than small-minded, and look what it does.
I’ve argued this on Bill O’Reilly and other Fox News shows. I ask, who would you want to pay to be a torturer? Do you want someone that the American public pays to torture? He’s an employee of yours. It’s worse than ridiculous. It’s criminal; it’s utterly criminal. This administration has been masters of diverting attention away from real issues and debating the silly. Debating what constitutes torture: Mistreatment of helpless people in your power is torture, period. And (I’m saying this as) a man who has been involved in the most pointed of our activities. I know it, and all of my mates know it. You don’t do it. It’s an act of cowardice. I hear apologists for torture say, “Well, they do it to us.” Which is a ludicrous argument. … The Saddam Husseins of the world are not our teachers. Christ almighty, we wrote a Constitution saying what’s legal and what we believed in. Now we’re going to throw it away.”
Yesterday I suggested that “The Republican agenda to keep you safe is a fraud.” Today I suggest that, if not a fraud, it is a massive example of incompetence and failure.
“In all 21 airports tested, no machine, no swab, no screener anywhere stopped the bomb materials from getting through. Even when investigators deliberately triggered extra screening of bags, no one stopped these materials,” the report said.
The Republican agenda to keep you safe is a fraud.
It’s almost as if they are courting a terrorist attack. It’s what go them elected. With their polling at such ridiculously low levels is it such a stretch to think they are hoping for a new attack just in time for the mid-term elections? Can anyone think of a valid reason why they voted against this?
Under Odysseus is a humorous warblog as written by an anonymous soldier from Greek antiquity. Although not a blog per se, it is in the blog format which makes it easy for Eurylochus to chronicle the Trojan War. I don’t know why I’m laughing so hard. Maybe that minor in Greek Art History when I got my Masters is finally good for somethin’?
“Anyway, Patroclus made a pretty dramatic entrance. Accompanied by Diomedes, he rode up on Hector’s horse, carrying a golden shield and a Myrmidonian flag. However, what really blew everyone away was that Patroclus was wearing Achilles’ armor. It was obvious that it was Achilles’ armor because it had a big cheesy ‘Alpha’ on the breastplate.
A loud whisper spread throughout the audience.
Everyone knew that Patroclus and Achilles were close, but not that close. Furthermore, as Patroclus was wearing Achilles’ armor, it was clear that Patroclus likely knew where Achilles had gone. -Agamemnon was visibly agitated.”
